BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN

There were two 'battles of El Alamein', both of them during 1942. The Battles occurred in Egypt in and around an area named after a Railway Stop called El Alamein. During the Battles, Allied (primarily British Empire) forces were lead by British Field Marshalls Claude Auchinleck during the first Battle and Bernard Montgomery during the second Battle. The first Battle ended in a stalemate in which the British finally stopped the eastward advance of the Germans and Italians who were under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. These two battles are considered by many World War II historians to be one of the turning point in the war against Germany and the Axis Powers (along with the Battle of Stalingrad). Although much fighting remained in Africa and the European Continent, the importance of these battles might best be summed up in the words of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who in November 1942 stated that:

"The Germans have received back again that measure of fire and steel which they have so often meted out to others. Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

★ First Battle of El Alamein - 1-27 July 1942

★ Second Battle of El Alamein - 23 October-4 November 1942